2012's Global Hotspots to Watch

Could the world in 2012 surprise us more than it did in 2011? Certainly, after Japan’s earthquake, the Middle East’s upheavals and Osama bin Laden’s death, the bar on shockers will be high.

The known unknowns for 2012 already form a daunting list: the fate of the euro zone (CRIS); the war in Afghanistan and the “peace” in Iraq; turmoil in Syria, Egypt and across the Middle East; Iran’s nuclear-weapons program; Pakistan’s chronic instability; Kim Jong Un’s succession and China’s soft landing, to name a few. But on the periphery of the media’s vision are other places where attention is likely to be rewarded, and neglect punished. Herewith five hotspots that offer challenges and opportunities over the coming year: